Mama.. there goes that man!!!

tv

Spoilers! If you haven’t watch the previous episode or didn’t catch up yet, please don’t read any further.

Last Sunday’s episode of The Game of Thrones left a lot of people with sour tastes in their mouths. The issue at hand here is that people are quitting the series because it doesn’t stay true to the books, and it’s over use of sexual violence. Last season, a similar outrage was provoked when Cersei was raped by her brother Jamie, which does not occur in the book. The threat of rape has hung over Sansa since the start of season two, whether it was by King Joffrey, the Hound, a group of rioters in King’s Landing or her first husband Tyrion, who was encouraged to impregnate her on her wedding night (he refused). Just when it seemed that Sansa had evaded all that horror, she was brutalised by perhaps the cruelest villain on the show. Sansa is not raped in the books. In fact, the original story had a girl posing as Arya Stark marrying Ramsay, and being subjected to a sexual assault. Both of the rape scenes were not included in the books, so why include them in the show? What can these scenes offer as for character development? This has turned many people off on the show, saying that there’s no reason to have sexual violence filler if it doesn’t add anything. Some fans defend these moments by pointing out the show depicts confronting violence in many forms. But this ignores the fact that sexual violence is a real part of many viewers’ lives and is something we still sometimes struggle to confront and punish.

George R.R. Martin made a couple of statements regarding the issue on his blog. Here’s two:

“How many children did Scarlett O’Hara have? Three, in the novel. One, in the movie. None, in real life: she was a fictional character, she never existed. The show is the show, the books are the books; two different tellings of the same story.”

“And yes, more and more, they differ. Two roads diverging in the dark of the woods, I suppose… but all of us are still intending that at the end we will arrive at the same place. In the meantime, we hope that the readers and viewers both enjoy the journey. Or journeys, as the case may be. Sometimes butterflies grow into dragons.”

Personally, I agree that the books and the movie don’t have to be a perfect reflection of each other. However, I do feel like this scene was not necessary. Only time will tell if this event is going to have a major character development for Sansa. In the end, Game of Thrones is a dark place where there are few victories, and a lot of suffering. If you even watched season one you would know if you’re looking for a show to be upbeat with happy endings for the main characters then this show isn’t for you.

We do love our fairy tales about princesses in towers, until we’re reminded of what actually happens to princesses in towers.

For those that don’t know, the Mars One Project was founded by Bas Lansdrop and Arno Wielders. Their plan is to colonize Mars in the upcoming decade. The colonist would go on a way trip to Mars with the intent of never coming back.

About a month ago, the Mars One Project cut their list down of 202,586 potential colonist to 100. The candidates come from all walks of life, different levels of education, and technical skills. Something that jumps out right at you is the level of education. Normally, people venturing into space would need a science degree, and be the cream of the crop. Instead, Lansdrop did not set up strict guidelines to capture the allure of being a colonist. Just like in the ole Christopher Columbus days.

I really want to see this project fulfill what it has set out to do, but I can’t shake this feeling of it’s never going to happen, or the mission would go horribly wrong resulting the deaths of all the colonist. The main issue that’s facing this project is the funding. Mars One has secured contracts with NASA, Space x, etc. but it’s going to need way more money. One way Lanstrop will raise money is to make a reality TV series. You will get the see the candidates’ train, prep for Mars, leave to Mars, and the colonist living on Mars. I believe this is a great way to get the world interested in space exploration, and maybe international partnerships will be created to pursue space related goals. We can experience their great triumph, or to see if they result to cannibalism if something happens to their food supply. Some may say this is a step mankind must take, and sooner the better. Just like a bird flying out of its nest, we must do the same to continue to evolve as a species.

For the record, this is nothing compared to Columbus. I kind of cringe when people try to pitch this as such. Yes. We’re going to a land that “no one” else has reached to colonize it, but Columbus had the same resources in America. These colonist won’t have that. The only thing that’s going to be familiar is the rocks, ice, and dirt. It would take up to six to eight months for Lanstrop to send supplies to Earth to Mars. I love how ambitious this project is, but maybe it’s best to wait until scientist finish the Nuclear Fusion Rocket, as it would be able to propel space craft fast enough to reach Mars from Earth in only one month.

My prediction? At the final day of training. A massive ceremony is going to be held. A dark figure is going to walk out to the middle of the stadium, and he’s going to speak into the mic…… “Hi. I’m Ashton Kutcher, and you’ve just been punk’d!”